My cat has been obsessively licking his stomach for a little over a month now. I took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago and she determined that he is bored and lonely and needs a friend. Well, she didn’t say he needs a friend specifically but I took that to mean that we must introduce a new bundle of love and fluff to the household to keep him occupied. (I just moved out of a 3 cat household a few months ago and Joey is now an only cat, so getting him a friend makes sense.)
Since the obvious solution to this is to get another kitty, that is what we are doing sometime in the next 2 weeks or so. But between the arrival of the new cat and now, what can be done to keep him entertained? I work 40 hours a week with a 1.5-2 hour commute each way so much of my day is spent away from home. He has about 1,000 cat toys but the vet recommends something more interactive.
Please help me brainstorm some ideas to keep him entertained during the day while I am gone until we find the right cat for our home! And also, what is the best way to introduce a new kitty to our household?
Our dear departed beasty Panther loved paper grocery bags.
Dope him with catnip?
You shouldn’t have too much difficulty introducing a new cat with him used to being in a multiple cat household!
Does he have comfortable perches to look out the windows? Do you leave stuff lying around that smells like you so he can sleep on them (dirty socks, dirty t-shirts, etc.)? I know it sounds gross, but cats just love to sleep on stuff that smells like their humans. If we leave one dirty sock on the floor, there will be a cat sleeping on it.
I read somewhere that cats need about two 15 minute play sessions a day. My cat’s favourite games are chase (with me running after her) and me giving her a good beating - where she crouches down and I spank her bum - preferably in the tub, for some reason. Maybe you can play with him a bit before you leave and then again when you come home - he’ll probably sleep the day away while you’re gone.
As long as we’re handing out kitty advice, I could use some as well.
I’m owned by three cats (one 7 yr old female, and two 7-month old male litter mates). My husband is now in Boston, and the rest of us are still here in KC. So the kitties have just one human to pay attention to them.
I’m doing my best to hand out lots of petting and scritches, but it’s clearly not enough. They are very needy and wake me up at least four or five times every night with head butts or by face licking/nibbling/biting.
The kitties have some toys they play with, but honestly when I get home from work, there they are like fuzzy land sharks loudly complaining about the lack of attention. Our situation won’t change until the house sells or until I land a job in Boston, so yeah, advice would be helpful.
I recently got two kittens, who keep each other quite amused – but they do enjoy playing with this, which doesn’t need a human around to be amusing. You can sprinkle catnip into the center section, which is a good way to keep them from actually getting at it (a problem with many catnip toys).
Oooh, excellent suggestion Twickster! I will go down to the pet store near me and see if they have one available. I feel bad that I don’t get to spend more time with him but catnip toys and vet bills don’t pay for themselves so it is off to work I go. He does love his stuffed toy on a string deal that I got from the wal-mart a long time ago, but he ceases to be amused by dingle balls apparently.
For when you get the new fuzzie - the trick that has worked well for me is to keep them in separate rooms for the first day or so - with a connecting door so they can smell each other and maybe play footsies. That way when they actually see each other it isn’t such a huge shock. Your cat most likely won’t have any problems adjusting since he is used to a multiple cat home.
I am envious - all of my fuzzbutts are grown. Kittens are so much fun!
This toy drives my cat wild. He plays with it all on his own so it requires no input from me other than ripping it off the cardboard and throwing it down the hall. I’ll return home after a day out, feathers will be scattered everywhere and he’ll be curled in a ball half unconscious.
They don’t last long because of the feathers being ripped out but they come in packs of three and they’re worth it because they turn him into Killer Kitty.
I thought of another one - I haven’t tried it, but people have recommended one of those toys that hangs in a doorway, and is on a stretchy string - the cat tries to make off with it, and it bounces around and encourages more chasing.